Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
If you read my Disclaimer you know I’m a little uncomfortable with awards. They are obviously very pleasing to receive, and I appreciate the social aspects involved, but I just find I have somewhat mixed feelings. That said, sometimes I’ve been awarded by a blogger I know and regard, and it’s very hard to be my usually curmudgeonly self.
And given that my nominator, the blogger artist Sheikah on Dark Link/Light Link is one of those young people who gives me hope for the future, I cannot turn my back. In particular this young lady is smart, educated and capable, and if there’s anything I revere in people it’s those very qualities.
So let’s get to it: some Liebster Award fun!
These blogging awards tend to come with rules, although said rules seem to evolve and change as they cycle through bloggers. A bit like the old game of Telephone, perhaps. The rules, as listed by Sheikah, are:
- Blog must have less than 1000 followers.
- Nominee must answer 11 questions.
- Nominee must give 11 random facts about themselves.
- Nominee must nominate 5-11 other people and ask them 11 questions.
I do qualify, per point one (and I suspect that 80 to 90 percent of the followers I do have actually have zero interest in this blog and are just spammers). I also rather like all the elevens involved — I’ve always liked the number eleven.
Sadly, this blog is where awards come and die, so I won’t be nominating anyone. Frankly, these days, I’m only following a few people anymore, so there’s really no one to nominate. (And most of the blogs I do follow wouldn’t qualify under point #1.)
But that leaves eleven questions to answer and eleven random facts, and I do like questions and facts. Also caramel, spaghetti, some TV shows, science fiction and thunderstorms, but those are neither here nor there. (Well, actually, they’re all over there. [points])
“A question! Long have I waited for a question!” (In fact, eleven of them.)
1. Why do you blog/What is your goal for your blog?
Not starting with the easy questions, are you! The original rationale for my blog is detailed on my Why page. The short form is: I’m an artist, and artists can’t not create. I also have the huge ego to think I have something worthwhile to say. Recently, however, I’ve begun to doubt the mission and value of this blog. The response from the world has been a decided, “Meh,” and I’ve begun to feel like that kook on the street corner mumbling nonsense. So the answer now is: Actually, I’m no longer sure why I blog, and I’m seriously considering not doing it anymore. The urge to create remains, but…
2. Out of all the established fictional realms you know of — Middle-Earth, Narnia, etc. — pick one you’d like to live and one you wouldn’t want to live in.
Yikes! For someone who’s read SF and Fantasy for 50 years, that’s a harder question than you might imagine! There are so many choices. Would love to live in David Brin‘s Uplift Universe (with intelligent dolphins and chimps!) or Alan Dean Foster‘s Spellsinger world. Would hate to live in Jack Chalker‘s Well World (or his Flux and Anchor world, or, come to that, most of his worlds — nasty, brutish places most of them) or in Stephen Donaldson‘s The Land.
Actually, top answer for wanna live there: Terry Pratchett‘s Discworld. I wanna live on Discworld!
3. Why those two? (I admit this is probably cheating, making this a separate question.)
Cheater! The ones I don’t wanna live in sound scary, and I’d probably end up as a slave. Discworld is just so wonderful and magical, plus I really want to try to see octarine.
4. Where on planet Earth would you most like to live?
On my own, private south pacific island with an invited population of artists and thinkers.
5. Which film adaptation do you think is the most faithful to the original book? Why?
Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet. Follows the book word for word. The entire book. And for a four-hour movie, is incredibly enthralling and engaging. Perhaps a better version of Hamlet than even Olivier’s. If you’ve never seen Shakespeare done by people who truly know and love the Bard, you haven’t seen Shakespeare at all.
Honorable mention to Zack Snyder‘s Watchmen, which blew me away for honoring and understanding the source text so thoroughly. Also thought Peter Jackson did a really good job on LotR, but he lost a zillion points with me for what he’s doing with The Hobbit.
6. Which adaptation is the least faithful? Why?
Many of the later James Bond films have nothing in common with the source book other than the title, but (again) Peter Jackson and The Hobbit is undoing all the regard I had for him ever since The Frighteners. The reality is that most films don’t serve the source material very well.
7. If you had the chance to make one event in history not-happen, which and why? And don’t say “the Holocaust”, that’s just too obvious.
You know that bit in the last TNG episode where Q takes Picard back to when organic chemistry first began the path towards eventual humans and shows him how, due to events and reasons, it didn’t happen? On my bad days I’d like to insure the human race never happened.
On my better days, I think none of that matters. Change one event, and a million others wipe out the effects. The human race is what it is, and given my druthers, I’d probably go back and correct some of my own personal mistakes in life, especially those that resulted in unintended hurt to others.
8. If you were in a band, what would you name it? Unless you ARE in a band, in which case come up with a different name for a hypothetical other band.
Tech. I’ve always wanted to have a band, and I’ve always wanted to call it Tech.
9. What is your favourite book?
Nonesuch exists; too many candidates vie for the honor. My favorite SF series (by a long shot; a clear winner) is Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. My favorite non-SF series is Robert Parker‘s Spenser (the detective).
10. Of all the characters in your favourite book, whose life would you rather lead?
That’s an easy one. I’ve always wanted to be Spenser.
11. Kirk or Picard? (If you can’t answer this question, that’s fine. There are those who consider that the RIGHT answer.)
Yeah, that’s like trying to compare pizza and potatoes. Just too different to really pick one over the other. I grew up with Kirk and company, but Picard (a) had a longer run, (b) much cooler effects and a sexier spaceship, (c) a Klingon security officer and (d) a much more attractive chief medical officer. (Yeah, I had a crush on Crusher. If you’d said, “McCoy or Crusher?” then the choice would be obvious.)
On the other hand, Deanna Troi and that friggin’ Holodeck.
And now, eleven “random” facts about me.
- I’ve ridden on a camel and on an elephant (but not simultaneously).
- I would never own a yellow or red car.
- I sometimes use a pencil (but not often).
- I don’t drink coffee (ever), but love coffee ice cream.
- I think Game of Thrones is vile, unwatchable filth.
- I have high regard for corvids, our eventual masters.
- I have forgiven Bill Clinton.
- I like caramel more than chocolate.
- I’d really like to know Steve Martin and Jodie Foster.
- I like mathematics!
- My favorite fruit is grapes.
All true. You believe me, don’t you? “You have to believe me!“
:D
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
